Bathing suit with fundation garment



March 9, 1954 D. c. LUHR BATHING SUIT WITH FOUNDATION GARMENT 2 Sheets'-Sheet l DOROTHY c. LUHR BY Filed Aug. 24, 1951 March 9, 1954 D. c. LUHRBATHING SUIT WITH FOUNDATION GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24,1951 INVENTOR. OROTHY C, LUHR Y iatenteci Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE BATHING SUIT WITH FOUNDATION GARMENT Dorothy C. Luhr,Ithaca, N. Y.

Application August 24, 1951, Serial No. 243,509

3 Claims. (01. 2-67) The present invention relates to ladies bathingsuits having for an object the provision of a foundation garment, whichwill embrace the torso from a point above the breasts to a point justbelow the hips, and is adapted for use with a plurality of detachablegarments including panties and skirt.

I have found that with the use of a substantial foundation garment,various bathing suits and bathing suit combinations are made availableat a cost not in excess of the cost of present day ladies bathing suitsand the foundation garment will last for an indefinite period of time.The foundation garment being originally fitted to the body of thepurchaser will require no change except for periodical change of breastcups in the brassiere portion of the garment, which change can be madeexpeditiously and with little cost to the wearer. An almost limitlessvariety of skirts and panties are available for detachable engagementwith the foundation garment and each change constitutes in effect a newsuit since no part of the foundation garment can be seen when in use.

It is an especial object of this invention to produce a foundationgarment for ladies bathing suits which will be comfortable and giveample support to the person of the user yet has a modish appearance andmay be quickly engaged to and disengaged from the body by themanipulation of a single zipper fastener.

It is further an object of this invention to provide a foundationgarment, in at least one embodiment of which, provision is made forremovable breast supporting frames to eliminate variety of sizes in thatthe foundation garment can be made in small, medium and large sizes andthe proper size brassiere fitted thereto.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a multiple partladies bathing suit which includes an adequately inherently supportedfoundation garment for the torso with ample elasticity and flexibilityto avoid discomfort especially during swimming or diving, the otherparts of the suit being so engaged with the foundation garment thatthere is no possibility of displacement or separation of the garmentparts while in normal use.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of the preferred form of the invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a bathing suitconstructed in accordance with the present invention illustrating itsapplication;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the 2 line 2-2 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a modified form of foundationgarment used in the present invention in which the brassiere portion ofthe garment is removable;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of another form of foundation garment whereinthe breast cups of the brassiere are removable;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the skirt portion of the bathingsuit;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line B-B ofFig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. '7 is an elevational view of the inside of the foundation garmentshown in completely open position;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the panty portion of the bathing suit,and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line -9 of Fig. '7 showing thereinforcing stays of the foundation garment.

In the drawings, in order to illustrate the applieation of theinvention, I have illustrated a portion of the human female bodyindicated at to, including a torso H and breast l2;

The bathing suit of this invention consists primarily of a foundationgarment generally designated l3 the back of which is elastic and thefront inelastic and which, as shown in Fig. 7

of the drawing, is, when completely open, substantially flat and, exceptfor the breast cups of the brassiere portion is of generallyrectangularcludes a brassiere portion generally designated [6 includingbreast cup frames H in which cups l8 are mounted. As shown to advantagein the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, the cups [8 may bedetachably mounted. In this form of the invention stud and socketfasteners [9 are mounted around the lower edges of the cups forengagement through openings 20 which are formed below semicircularrecesses 2| formed in the upper margin of the garment at the front ofthe latter. In addition the cups are anchored to the garment by tabcarried hooks 22, the tabs being carried by the frames [1. Each breastcup 18 is provided with a slot 23, as shown in Fig. 4 through which thehook is passed preparatory to being engaged with a complemental eye 24carried by the top of each side of the garment as shown in Figs. 3 and4.

The frames [1 constitute the upper ends of a unitary stay frame 25 whichlatter, as shown in Fig. 4, constitutes a V-shape central portion whichextends upwardly and in a semicircle above the semicircular recesses 2|to form circular openings for the breast cups, the stay frame extendingdownwardly in the garment on each side as indicated at 26, the lowerends of the stays terminating at the waistline 2'! of the garment. Theportion of the garment below the waistline is provided with stays 28completely around the garment. The back of the garment is also providedwith stays 29 which extend from the top of the garment to the waistline21. It will be noted that the lower stays 28 are immediately below thestay frame 25 and the stays 29.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified form of foundation garment wherein thefront is formed to provide a pair of parallel V-shaped pockets 30, eachof which is adapted to receive the V- shape portion 31 of a brassiereframe generally designated 32. The top of each frame is circular andadapted for the reception of a breast cup [8. Each of the frames isprovided with a stay 33, the upper terminal of which extends into thebottom of the breast cup. This type of garment is preferred whereadditional support is necessary and also provides a garment which isadaptable for use with different sized breast cups which are anchored tothe sides of the garment in the same manner as th breast cups of theform of invention shown in Fig. 4.

The lower terminal of the foundation garment is provided with aplurality of buttons 34, or other suitable fastening means, for apurpose hereinafter set forth. The fastening means are normally coveredby a strip 35 which is secured to the garment just above the buttons asshown in Figs. 1 and 3. The buttons are adapted to be engaged bybuttonholes 35 formed in the tops of panties 31. The sides of thepanties are open so as to facilitate engagement and removal with andfrom the person of the user and for size variation. The portions of theupper margins of the panties are extended to provide tie strings 38which may be secured as shown in the right side of Fig. 8 of thedrawings. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawinss, the point ofsecurement of the panties to the garment is at a. point just below thehips.

The outer skirt portion of the bathing suit is fully shown in Fig. 5 anddesignated 39. The skirt may be of any desired style or design andincludes a bodice port-ion 40 which is adapted to extend completely overand above the breast cups of the brassire portion of the foundationgarment. The top of the skirt is provided with a pair of hooks 4|, onebeing adapted for engagement within each of the breast cups, as shown inFig. 6, to engage a loop 42 carried by the cup. The side of the skirt isopen from the top to a point below the waist, as shown in Fig. 5, andequipped with zipper fastening means 43. With the combination of thezipper fastener and the hooks 4|, the skirt 39 is positively anchored tothe foundation garment yet may be quickly engaged with and disengagedfrom said garment. When in use the skirt, as shown in Fig. 1, willextend completely over the foundation garment and over and below thepanties 31.

Where additional breast support is required, a supporting strap 44 maybe mounted in the bottom of each cup, the ends of th strap being securedto the cup leaving the intermediate portion of the strap free, as shownadvantageously in Fig. 2.

While I have herein shown and described preferred forms of my invention,it is to be understood that various changes may be made therein withinthe scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

1. A ladys bathing suit including a foundation garment having a torsoencircling portion and including breast covering and hip coveringportions, panties, having a crotch and leg openings, detachably securedto the lower part of the foundation garment below the waistline, and askirted outer garment detachably secured to the top of the foundationgarment and extending downwardly outside of the latter and outside ofand below said panties.

2. The garment in accordance with claim 1 in which the foundationgarment includes a frame having a pair of breast cups, the frame beingdetachably engaged with the torso covering portion of the foundationgarment.

3. A foundation garment for ladies bathing suits having a bodyencircling portion, breast covering and hip covering portions, the topof the body encircling portion of the garment being provided with a pairof vertical pockets in the front which open through the top of the bodyencircling portion of the garment, and a breast cup frame carrying thebreast covering portions, said frame being formed with spaced downwardlyextending projections, detachably mounted in said pockets.

DOROTHY C. LUHR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 999,388 McCullough Aug. 1, 1911 1,020,213 Martell et a1. Mar.12, 1912 1,907,159 Stuart May 2, 1933 2,268,781 Slotoroff Jan. 6, 19422,483,366 Glick Sept. 27, 1949 2,532,375 Sider Dec. 5, 1950 2,583,865McIlhinney Jan. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 218,699Great Britain July 8, 1924 972,935 France Sept. 6, 1950

